It is one year today,
March 3, 2013, since the last general elections to the Goa Legislative
Assembly. The decisive verdict of the electorate to change the government has
not resulted in anything decisive or spectacular. The people desperately wanted
to throw out the Congress Government, and the Bharatiya Janata Party led by the
then opposition leader, Manohar Parrikar, was the pragmatic choice. Over the
year, the new government has tried to satisfy the people in many ways including
doles, and promises of more doles. A more disciplined government. No scams and
scandals yet. So far so good.
But a large number of people were not looking only for these changes.
They had felt betrayed by the party that had ruled Goa for almost thirty years,
minus few short gaps in 1990s and a longer one in 2000-2005. They wanted the
sale of Goa’s limited land to be stopped. They had a massive agitation to reject a regional plan
that was going to destroy Goa forever, but no new plan was coming up to replace
it although the people had participated in the process of formulating a new
plan right at the village level. Almost all the gram sabhas of Goa had opted
for rural status for themselves, and did not want gated communities and big
residential complexes in their villages. The new BJP led government has not kept its promise
of promulgating a new plan, and keeps on postponing the same again and again.
The new BJP led government is also delaying the resolution to demand special
status for Goa in spite of promise of support by all political parties. Why is
the government delaying these important decisions that all well wishers of Goa
would welcome? Is it the intention of the Government to let things happen the
way they were in the past? And take decisions when it is too late? As indicated
in my column many times over the last one year, I have been a well wisher of
the Chief Minister. With love for Goa deep in my heart, I am now getting
disillusioned with him. And like me, many others too. It is our request to
Chief Minister Parrikar to do what you have to do in this regard, and do it
quickly.
The gram sabhas have their jurisdiction. Sometimes they pass
resolutions which are beyond the scope of their jurisdiction. It may or may not
be legally binding. But most of the
resolutions and demands, legally binding or not, are regarding their own
villages, their own future. We read these reports in all our daily newspapers
Monday after Monday, as gram sabhas meet on Sundays. Our Government, our MLAs,
our MPs should listen to the voice of the people who have elected them to be
where they now are. And act accordingly. And act quickly for time is running
out.
The opposition party in Goa, the Indian National Congress, is
in deep slumber. A year has passed since the defeat, but the same politicians
are holding office in the organization. The party president had resigned after
the defeat, but still holds office as there has been no action by the high
command to bring in a new team. With Lok Sabha elections scheduled for next
year, the party should have been reactivated by now, ready to fight a
challenging election in 2014. But nothing of that sort is happening. The
legislative wing, with nine members, could have been a formidable opposition. But
it looks like they lack either capacity or will power. They seem to be lost in
the opposition benches, the same space used by the present Chief Minister to become
a hero when he was the leader of opposition. That he dislikes opposition to his
reign, forgetting his own role when in opposition, is another matter for mid
course correction. Opposition has a vital role in the dynamics of a
parliamentary democracy. But most of our present politicians are a pitiable lot
who can function only from positions of power, not on the strength of the
people they represent. Ideologies and manifestoes are dead. Egos and greed are
the diesel on which their political engines run. What future can we expect from
them?
It is the citizens who fight for their rights, who sacrifice
their time at the local meetings, who take up leadership on important issues, who
are concerned about the future of their state – these are the ones who are our
future hope. Some of these should get into electoral politics and make the
difference. If parties do not give them tickets, people will still vote for
them as they have done in the past. Hasn’t the number of independents been
increasing in our Assembly over the past few years? Some of them have been the
best even though they are first time MLAs. We have five in the present
Assembly. Next time, may be more.
As the Chinese proverb says it, a thousand mile journey
begins with the first step. The march to the Legislative Assembly Elections
should begin at least four years before.
Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 03.03.2013
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